HAYWARD — The first time Jacquieta Beverly stood up for someone else was in first grade. Her teacher, who enforced a white-and-blue dress code in class, scolded a classmate for coming to school with yellow clothes.

“I told my teacher that you can’t do that to her,” she said.

Thus began 17-year-old Beverly’s passion for standing up for those without a voice, which has since grown into advocating for civil liberties and social justice issues.

The Tennyson High School senior recently was named a 2007 Youth Activist Scholar by the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization whose mission is to preserve due-process rights and protections such as the First Amendment.

“This is just a great honor,” Beverly said. “I didn’t think I was going to get it.”

For her accomplishments, Beverly, an Oakland native, will receive a $4,000 college scholarship. The honor, which began in 2000, is given to graduating seniors across the country who have demonstrated a strong commitment to civil liberties and civil rights through some form of student activism, ACLU officials said.

One of Beverly’s first major roles as an activist came during her sophomore year. After she discovered that California public schools were consistently being underfunded, she worked with Students Taking Action Now for Democracy to petition the governor and lawmakers in Sacramento to end the problem.

“I was reviewing the governor’s budget and it just struck me,” she said. “I just felt they were taking something away from me.”

Beverly also has created her own student organization opposing military recruitment on campus. The club, Action for Social Justice, discusses the “poverty draft” and the targeting of young people of color.

A self-described “girl who never shuts up,” Beverly credits her mother for instilling that “leader” mentality. “My mom always told me to never be a follower,” she said. “And I’m inspired to be a voice not only for myself, but for the community.”

Her friends and teachers also have taken notice of Beverly’s leadership skills and passion for equal rights.

It’s not unusual for Beverly to have at least three or four conversations a day regarding whether certain actions would violate certain rights protected by the law, her friend Helen Liu said.

During an interview with a reporter Thursday afternoon, Beverly took a five-minute break to argue with a campus security guard over whether searching students was illegal.

“Jacquieta is a natural leader, critical thinker, and not afraid to ask the hard questions,” said Peter Olson, a history teacher at Tennyson High. “It’s exciting to see her develop as an activist. Those of us who have been lucky enough to have her in class are looking forward to her future. She’s going to go out there and shake things up for the positive.”

Beverly plans to attend a historically black college and pursue a career as a civil rights lawyer.

“As long as there’s something wrong, I’m always going to be here to try to fix it,” she said. “And there’s a lot of things that are wrong.”